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Monday, June 18, 2007

To make or not to make...

Every once in awhile, I come across a recipe that has an ingredient or two that looks a little out of place or the combination just sounds odd to us. Many times I end up deciding not to make the dish, but after I went over tonight's recipe with Jeff, we decided we had to try this Baked Eggs with Potatoes, Spinach and Cheese Sauce just to see what it was going to taste like!

To start us off, a combination of tender Yukon Gold potatoes, buttermilk, butter and seasonings are mashed together to create a creamy base once spread in a baking dish. Next, a layer of wilted spinach, that has been mixed with sautéed onions, is scattered over the top of the mashed taters. Not too different yet, right? Well, now comes a layer of thinly sliced hard-boiled eggs... and what would be the best way to finish off this dish? A cheesy sauce of course! Flavoring the thick sauce is Dijon mustard, a dash of fresh grated nutmeg and the best part; earthy Gruyère cheese. The sauce is poured on top of the sliced eggs and the whole enchilada goes into the oven to bake until completely warmed through and the edges have turned golden. I didn't have enough time to wait for it to cool down, so our servings were a bit soft still as it was pretty warm - by the time we were done eating, it held its shape much better.

So, we thought this combination was weird on paper, but it was actually pretty darn good! It was a lot of work and made a few dishes, so I'm not sure I would assemble this next time on a weeknight, but it was interesting enough to make again! The only thing I was thinking about while eating it was how some salty crisp bacon would have been an excellent addition scattered on top.

This might be a good dish to make with leftover mashed potatoes - thinned a little with buttermilk if necessary (I wonder if plain yogurt would work? because I hardly ever have buttermilk in the house).

I can also think of a few ways to simplify cleanup, like letting the cooked spinach cool then squeeze the excess liquid out by handfuls instead of using a sieve, etc.